Ventilating baffle for suspended ceiling construction



Jan. 2, 1968 A. w. SEGIL. E L 3,361,050

VENTILATING BAFFLE FOR SUSPENDED CEILING CONSTRUCTION Filed June 20, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS ARTHUR W SEGIL RICHARD N. WHITE ATTORNEY Jan. 2, 1968 A. w. SEGIL ET AL 3,361,050

VENTILATING BAFFLE FOR SUSPENDED CEILING CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 20, 1966 INVENTORS ARTHUR W. SEGIL RICHARD N. WHITE ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,361,050 VENTILATING BAFFLE FOR SUSPENDED CEILING CONSTRUCTION Arthur W. Segil, South Highland Park, and Richard N.

White, Des Plaines, Ill., assignors to Luminous Ceilings, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed June 20, 1966, Ser. No. 558,770 3 Claims. (Cl. 98-40) This invention relates to ventilating bafiles for use in suspended ceiling construction, and particularly to a ventilating baflle capable of introducing conditioned air downwardly to one or both sides thereof.

The structure according to the present invention is particularly adapted for use with suspended ceiling modulus of the kind as shown in Segil and White application Ser. No. 339,679, filed Jan. 23, 1964, now Patent Number 3,258,587, issued June 28, 1966, for Suspended Ceiling Construction.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a ventilating baffle capable of directing air as desired to one side or the other thereof.

Another object is to provide a bafile having structure at the lower extremities thereof for receiving a room divider element such as a glass pane, and to incorporate additional structure for supplying air selectively to either or both sides of the room divider element.

A still further object is to provide a bottom reinforcing and closure element for a ventilating bafile and to construct such element to receive a glass pane or the like and to divert air selectively to one or both sides of such pane, or to shut off the supply of air if desired.

An ancillary object to the foregoing one is to enable such closure element to rest upon other types of room dividers without affecting the capability of the baflle to divert air as required to either side of the room divider.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from a study of the specification following taken with the drawings which together describe and illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, and what is now considered to be the best mode of practicing the principles of the invention. Other embodiments may be suggested to those having the benefit of the teachings herein, and such other embodiments are intended to be reserved especially as they fall within the purview of the subjoined claims.

In the drawings;

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a suspended ceiling module having the improved ventilating baffle according to the present invention embodied therein;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the improved ventilating bafile according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view thereof; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse cross section therethrough taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the improved ventilating bafile according to the present invention is referred to generally by the reference numeral 10, and is part of a module of a suspended ceiling adapted to support luminaires 11 and supply conditioned air to the space below the suspended ceiling. The module seen in FIG. 1 comprises spaced parallel main battles 12 extending at right angles to spaced parallel cross baffles 13.

Minor bafiies 14 extend between the ventilating bafile and the main baffles, and have for their purpose the concealment of the luminaires 11 and the diffusion of the light therefrom.

The main baffles 12 and the cross bafiles 13 are joined to each other at corner post assemblies such as may be shown in the aforesaid Segil and White application or in Smith and Thompson application Ser. No. 349,627,

3,361,050 Patented Jan. 2, 1968 filed Mar. 5, 1964, for Suspended Ceilings. The luminaires 11 may be supported on the cross balfies 13 in a manner as shown in said Smith and Thompson application, and details of such supports are accordingly not shown herein. Likewise, the mode of securing the minor baffies 14 at their ends are not shown in detail in this application, as such is shown in the aforesaid Smith and Thompson application.

The ventilating baffle 10 is adapted to be supported at its ends upon the cross baffies in a manner as shown in the Smith and Thompson application and need not be shown in herein. Details of the ventilating baffle are seen in FIGS. 2 to 4, and include a body member 16 surmounted by a plenum cap 17 having a flanged opening 18 adapted to be connected to source of conditioned air, not shown, supplied by ductwork located above the module seen in FIG. 1.

The ventilating bafile 10 has spaced sloping sides 19 and 21 which are maintained in proper spaced relationship by end web members 22, each having flanges 23 lying against the inner faces of the sloping sides 19 and 21. The bafiie 10 is characterized by its sides 19 and 21 having exposed surfaces unbroken by rivets or securing clips, and the flanges 23 are secured to the sides with a suitable self curing cement as may be formulated from polyester or epoxy resins.

The plenum cap 17 is provided with flanges 24 adapted to enter the opening at the top of the sloping sides 19 and 21, and to rest against the inner faces thereof. Baflle 10 has the inner faces of its sides 19 and 21 faced with expanded styrene sheets 26 glued thereto, and which provide stiffness to the sides without greatly increasing the weight of bafile 10. Sheets 26 also absorb any sound occasioned by movement of air supplied at the plenum opening 18.

The bottom extremities of ventilating bafiie 10 are provided with a lower air duct assembly 27 extending lengthwise thereof. In certain cases the placement of the ventilating baflle 10 may coincide with a partition divider 28 of a room enclosure, and ventilating bafile 10 is operable to supply conditioned air to both sides of such partition divider 28. Lower duct assembly 27 also acts to reinforce the bottom edges of the sides 19 and 21.

Air duct assembly 27 includes a pair of extrusions 29 flanking the inside faces of the sloping sides 19 and 21. Extrusions 29 are cemented to the sides 19 and 21 by a suitable epoxy or polyester resin. Each extrusion 29 is integral with a trim bead 30 to complete the dress of the lower edge of the sides 19 and 21. Each extrusion 29 has a channel-shaped groove 31 in confronting relationship with the opposite channel shaped groove 31. Spacer members 32 are spaced at intervals throughout the length of the extrusions 29 and are provided with ears 33 which are pressed into the channels to provide a rigid structure. The spacer members 32 are each provided with a slot 34 to receive a long web 36 of a diverter baflle extrusion 37. Rivets 38 hold extrusions 29, cross members 32 and diverter baflle extrusion 37 together as a unit.

Diverter baflle extrusion 37 is coterminous with winglike extensions 39 which are spaced from the extrusions 29 to provide passageways 41 extending for the length of the bafile 10 at air duct assembly 27. The wing-like extensions 39 have bases 42 adapted to rest upon the partition 28. Bases 42 are separated by a slot 43 extending the length of the extrusion 37 and defined by inturned flanges 44. These are adapted to embrace a glass pane of a glass partition therebetween in lieu of there being the partition 28.

The diverter baffle extrusion 37 is tudinally extending hinge pockets 46 embracing greater than of central angle. Each pocket 46 is adapted to receive a vane 47 extending longitudinally of such formed with longipocket 46, each vane 47 having a central hub 48 engaged in the hinge pocket 46. The ends of each vane 47 is bifurcated as at 49, and the vanes 47 can be rocked selectively to close against the extrusion 29, and thus block passageways 41., or against extrusion 37 to leave passageway 41 open.

Thus ventilating bafile 10 can be arranged to supply conditioned air to either or both sides of the partition 28, and both passageways 41 may be blocked if the baffle is not to supply the conditioning air.

From the description foregoing it is believed evident that there has been provided some new and useful improvements in the art of ventilating baffles for suspended ceiling construction. While the invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment thereof, the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited by the embodiment herein shown, but only by the terms of the claims here appended.

We claim:

1. In a ventilating baflie for use in a module of a suspended ceiling, said baffle having spaced planar sides between which conditioned air is adapted to move, a lower duct assembly for controlling the movement of air therewithin and for reinforcing the lower extremities of said planar sides, said lower duct assembly comprising a pair of reinforcing members secured one each to the inside faces of said planar members in spaced relationship to each other, means for maintaining said reinforcing members in such spaced relationship, and means for diverting air in selective directions to the sides of said ventilating bafile along the bottom extremities thereof comprising a diverter member having a central web extending from said last named means and defining with said reinforcing members a pair of side by side ducts, a pair of wing-like extensions from the lower end of said diverter member and defining with the lower extremities of said reinforcing members duct passages directed to correlative sides of said ventilating bafile, and vanes supported by said diverter member at the central web thereof and adapted to be moved into or out of duct closing position of its correlative duct as desired, said vanes being so constructed and arranged that in the open position thereof they extend in a plane correlative with the direction of air flow in the corresponding duct and are shiftable across said duct against the reinforcing member thereof to close said corresponding duct, said vanes be ing capable of being manipulatable through said ducts to duct closing and duct opening positions.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said planar sides are maintained in proper spaced relationship by web means secured between said planar sides at the ends thereof.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said wing-like ex tensions are spaced by a slot for receiving a divider in the space below said baffle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,126,811 3/1964 Kennedy 98-40 3,132,579 5/1964 La Vigne et a1. 98-40 3,223,019 12/1965 Schuh 9840 3,227,063 1/ 1966 Lambert 98-40 3,254,587 6/1966 Sweeney 98-40 3,266,408 6/1966 Palmquist 98-40 3,295,432 1/1967 Palmquist 9840 ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

W. E. WAYNER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A VENTILATING BAFFLE FOR USE IN A MODULE OF A SUSPENDED CEILING, SAID BAFFLE HAVING SPACED PLANAR SIDES BETWEEN WHICH CONDITIONED AIR IS ADAPTED TO MOVE, A LOWER DUCT ASSEMBLY FOR CONTROLLING THE MOVEMENT OF AIR THEREWITHIN AND FOR REINFORCING THE LOWER EXTREMITIES OF SAID PLANAR SIDES, SAID LOWER DUCT ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A PAIR OF REINFORCING MEMBERS SECURED ONE EACH OF THE INSIDE FACES OF SAID PLANAR MEMBERS IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP TO EACH OTHER, MEANS FOR MAINTAINING SAID REINFORCING MEMBERS IN SUCH SPACED RELATIONSHIP, AND MEANS FOR DIVERTING AIR IN SELECTIVE DIRECTIONS TO THE SIDES OF SAID VENTILATING BAFFLE ALONG THE BOTTOM EXTREMITIES THEREOF COMPRISING A DIVERTER MEMBER HAVING A CENTRAL WEB EXTENDING FROM SAID LAST NAMED MEANS AND DEFINING WITH SAID REINFORCING MEMBERS A PAIR OF SIDE BY SIDE DUCTS, A PAIR OF WING-LIKE EXTENSIONS FROM THE LOWER END OF SAID DIVERTER MEMBER AND DEFINING WITH THE LOWER EXTREMITIES OF SAID REINFORCING MEMBERS DUCT PASSAGES DIRECTED TO CORRELATIVE SIDES OF SAID VENTILATING BAFFLE, AND VANES 